Echoes of a Smile...

A few days ago, I went to a hackathon. And suddenly, I saw a face — a face with a smile that felt strangely familiar.

In that moment, it felt as if I was pulled back by a time machine, to the first time I saw her.

The same smile. The same eyes. A different person -- yet the same feeling.

Seeing that smile again made me happy, but it also left me deeply saddened by the present we live in now. She is in a completely different land, with someone else. And here I am -- pretending to know where I am going in life -- alone, yet carrying the same memories.

I still have the gifts she once gave me. Sometimes, I wonder whether I should treasure them or finally let them go.